Edge Grain Cutting Board

First real project I got off of The Woodwhisperer.com. Thanks Marc for instructional videos. You do a great job. It is made out of Purpleheart and Hard Maple. It’s not perfect but I really enjoyed making it.

Well the picture doesn’t show it but not all of the blocks line up perfectly. I had a hard time cutting straight with the craftsman saw I have. The fence does not work well. I need to figure out how to cut more accurately with it. I never used a jointer before and it is harder than it looks to get a straight edge on a board. Like I said I’m just starting out and am really enjoying the time working with wood. I have a lot to learn and wish there was some classes close by that I could take, but I haven’t found one yet.

Fin, this is a nice looking board and I like you choice of woods as well. I have to agree with Dusty in that I do not see anything wrong with the alignment.

I can empathize with you about the challenge of cutting straight with your saw. Getting the fence and blade parallel with a Craftsman saw is a challenge. Here is a picture of my old saw with the “fine adjusting tool” that I used to get the fence in sync with the blade.

I would set the blade to fence distance and then use the dead blow hammer to “tap” the front and rear of the fence since they tend to move independently until they were parallel and then have to reset the blade to fence distance. Of course, this necessitated repeating the front and rear positioning with the dead blow hammer again. Occasionally I would spend at least 10 minutes getting both the blade to fence distance correct and getting the blade and fence parallel. Dealing with the fence is an aggravation. But it looks like you managed to do well with this project.

-- Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful- Joshua Marine

Good job with the board. I had the same trouble with my table saw and the fence that came with it,, when I had saved enough money I bought the Incra TSLS fence and all my accuracy problems disappeared..and I bought it in Australia.. costs a lot more here. I just made and sold some boards. OK lots of boards.Larry

-- Drink twice... and don't bother to cut... @ lazylarrywoodworks.com.au For lovers of all things timber...

Hi Fin,It’s kinda funny- The Wood Whisperer cutting board was my first board. No wait…. yes, this was my first board, however, it was 3”x 5”x 1/2”. I was so excited about trying to make one, and all I had for wood was pen blanks, purpleheart and canarywood. LOL it is so cute.The board looks great !! REALLY ! We can always see our own mistakes, but unless someone really takes the time to eyeball the project it isn’t noticeable.Hope you can get you table saw under control, it can be frustrating I know.Nice work!!

Scott, you’re a very patient man. I struggled a lot. I probably need to figure out a way like you did. Thanks for the picture. I might be able to make something like this work for me. I definitely have the front of the fence not working with the back issue. Every time I clamp down on the fence it will shift a little. Thanks for the ideas.

I can see a few of the corners that don’t line up perfectly but you’d have to really be looking for it to see it. I think it looks great. Congrats. I love Craftsman tools but found that their saws and drills are lacking. Keep the projects coming!